Chicago—The long-term use of opioids
for treating chronic nonmalignant pain is a practice that has emerged from
the shadows in recent years—but the practice is not without a chorus
of critics.

At conferences such as the American Pain Society's annual scientific
meeting here in March and through marketing efforts of opioid manufacturers,
many clinicians are getting the message that these drugs are an effective
therapy for chronic, noncancer pain. Proponents say it is high time that physicians
move beyond the stigma attached to opiate use and worries about addiction
and recognize the drugs' value for patients with intractable pain.